Footprints
by Sakura4eva
Summary: A cute, pre-massacre, fluffy one shot. ItaSaku. Little Sakura had been looking forward to this Christmas... For 'The Artists and Authors' Guild' contest, 'An Animazing Christmas' (and won!).


**AN: This is for a contest in a club I joined in OtakuZone (the Artists and Authors' Guild – I'm Cady94, so add me!! *grins hopefully*). An 'Animazing Christmas' – here we go!! :D**

**Pairing:** ItaSaku  
**Note(s):** AU / pre-massacre

**Disclaimer:** Consider it **disclaimed**...

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**Footprints**

A small, pink nose pressed itself into the large, frosted window and emerald eyes sparkled with excitement. It was finally here! When she woke up the next morning, it would be Christmas!! Her father had told her over and over through out the year that it would come, she just wouldn't - no, she _couldn't_ believe. But here it was and her father was right and…

Haruno Sakura pulled her nose from the window as a shiver ran over her body. Her brow furrowed up and she opened her mouth slightly. Moments later, a sneeze came and she was sniffling.

"Sakura! Don't be getting yourself a cold. If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times: dress warmly," her mother scolding, frowning at the pink-haired child. "Goodness, I'm getting cold just looking at you."

"But-"

"No buts. And, while you're at it, you might as well head outside. It could only do you good."

This didn't make sense if her mother wanted her warm, but she only hesitated for a moment before racing off to her room to find a decent sweater.

Minutes later, Sakura found herself in the front hall, pulling on her hat and waiting for her mother to finish fussing over her scarf and boots.

After finally deeming her secure enough to battle the winter chill, she was ushered outside. Sakura only stood still for a moment, watching the fat, white snowflakes fall, before a smile broke out on her face. With a cheery grin, she half ran, half waddled - as she couldn't move very fast in the snow pants - around her yard, catching snowflakes in her mouth.

A while later, the worn out child fell to her knees, panting. She watched the snow fall again before laying down on her back and promptly make a snow angel. It took a few failed attempts, but she finally got it in the end.

Now, it was probably around noon. No doubt her mother would be expecting her back in soon, however, she still felt like doing something. So, she got up and went on her way out to the edge of her yard. One more glance behind her - to make sure that no one would see her - and she ran across the quiet street, as fast as her bundled up legs would carry her.

Slowly, she made her way in which direction, she believed, would lead her to the park. About ten minutes later, and she began to doubt this, though, and turned to head back. Only, she found, as she was walking back, that she recognized not a thing. So, she turned back again, this time trying another street.

Half an hour later and not one of the streets around her were ones that she knew in the slightest. She couldn't even, for the life of her, remember which was she had just came and had only just plopped down on the side of the road.

Sakura was cold, and scared, and quite frankly, miserable. A tear found its way down her cheek and dripped to the snow before she even knew it was there, but she quickly wiped her eyes before another could join it.

It proved, however, to be quite futile, as a brand new one welled up and soon she was sobbing, quietly, her face scrunched up in annoyance irritation.

Sakura was only crying, perhaps, for about five minutes before she heard a pair of footsteps coming up the sidewalk. She didn't, however, even look up.

But when they stopped right in front of her own feet, she looked at the shoes, still blubbering only slightly, and trying to put an end to it. They were shinobi footwear, belonging to someone probably in their early teens - if even that. So, because of this, she didn't look up farther. She had had enough and didn't need to deal with an older kid picking on her. The young girl got more than her fair share of that at her ninja academy and, from what she had seen, this was a fairly rich neighbourhood and she was - quite obviously, she guessed - from a not-so-rich family.

The sound of the person in front of her crouching down broke her from her reverie and she looked up a bit again. She still avoided the eyes, but got as far the nose.

Now she could confirm that it was indeed a young male (nine, ten - eleven at most), and had the makings of a handsome face and body structure, from what she could tell (not that she really took too much notice of that.). He was also, no doubt, rich and in high stature, if that jounin vest was any indication.

He spoke then, quiet and in blunt monotone. "Are you lost, little girl?"

Sakura just shivered and looked back down at her feet.

The boy gave a sigh in annoyance. "Don't make me repeat myself."

She glared up at him. "Leave m-me alone," she mumbled, before she finally noticed his eyes. They were coal black, much like his shoulder-length hair that was pulled back from his eyes, save for the bangs that lightly framed the sides of his face.

Sakura recognized this boy. She didn't know from what, but she knew that she did and, instinctively, she curled herself up tighter. Most boys she knew were not ones that she liked to recognize...

The slightest of frowns pulled at his face, before it blanked itself back out. "I won't hurt you," he said, finally, softer this time.

She watched him carefully; no longer crying, he noted. However, after a moment or two, he stood and turned, apparently having given up.

Sakura waited for only a second before she jumped up, too. "W-wait!" She called, shuffling as fast as she could.

He didn't seem to even slow down.

She went faster, hoping that somehow, someway, he would lead her home. But she was going too fast for the amount she bundled up in and gravity weighed her back down with a soft '_thump_'.

She scrambled up again, blearily searching for the boy. He was waiting just at the end of her range of vision before disappearing and she furrowed her brow up again. Her gaze was directed to her feet and she stared for only a moment.

Well, Sakura had always been praised as a smart girl. Footprints!

Eagerly, she found the footprints that fit with the feet she had seen only moments earlier without a problem and followed them as quickly as she could. Not even a minute later, she walked right into the owner.

"So you're coming, after all," he stated.

Sakura pouted and almost started whimpering again, before he reached down took her hand.

"What is your name?"

She hesitated for only the barest of moments, before answering, "H-Haruno Sakura."

He processed this, before giving a sharp nod, then walking steadily onwards, having apparently confirmed something.

"A-ah! S-senpai!" She called, panting already from the brisk pace.

He noticed this and slowed immediately. Watching her carefully, he adjusted to her own natural pace and fell into step again beside her.

After she had caught her breath, Sakura spoke up again. "A-ano, senpai... What's y-your name?" she asked.

He was silent and she thought that he had heard her and was about to repeat it, when he finally answered. "Itachi," he replied.

Sakura waited for a moment, before realizing that he had intentionally left out the last name.

"Itachi-san," she repeated quietly, trying it out on her tongue.

He looked down at her, questioningly.

"A-ah!" She squeaked. "G-gomen..."

Itachi just shook his head.

It was a few moments again before she spoke up again. "Do y-you go to the ninja a-academy, Itachi-s-san?"

His head gave a slight shake again, before he said, "Iie, I graduated."

"Oh wow!" Sakura exclaimed, losing her stutter with her state of awe. "But you look not much older than me! You must be really strong, Itachi-san!" It was quiet for a moment, before she looked over at him. She almost gasped. His face was frighteningly steeled. "A-ah... I-I... G-gomen, Itachi-san," she whispered.

Itachi looked down at her. "What have you to be sorry for?" he inquired.

"W-well, I don't know exactly..." she admitted.

"Then you do not need to say sorry."

"Bu-But-!" Sakura paused, searching for the right words. "But you looked like you were ... hurt by that, Itachi-san. So I must have said something wrong! Gomen!" She apologized again, feeling upset once more.

He sighed before halting his walk and crouching down again until the two were eye-level. "No," he said softly. "It was not you. Now come, it's almost Christmas, right? You shouldn't be crying so much. Wipe your tears. There, now come along."

Sakura followed quietly this time, still sure that she had done something that was out of line - if even in the slightest.

The last bit of their journey went by quickly - too quickly for Sakura's taste and she found her self trying to slow their speed, but Itachi would have none of that. He was apparently restraining himself enough, and Sakura was left feeling bad once more.

When the footsteps beside her ceased, she looked up with a jerk and found herself staring, once again, at her own front yard. She even saw her own mother pacing worriedly just inside the large front window - a window that still had her own fingerprint smushed into them from that morning. The only difference was, was that they now had a large Christmas tree sitting by it, the lights already twinkling from in between the branches. That must have been why her mother was rushing her out of the house!

An excited grin stretched across her face and she tried to walk forward, but the hand wouldn't come and the fingers had gone slack around her own. The grin immediately dropped and she faced the boy beside her, searching his face for an answer.

"Run along. They're waiting, right?"

Sakura hesitated, and Itachi had to pull his hand out of hers.

"Go on," he said.

She stared up at him. "Y-you won't come, too?"

"No," he said, shaking his head. "I have my own family waiting for me."

"Oh. ... But... But how will I find you again?" she called out to the already disappearing figure.

Itachi paused, before he turned and sent the barest of smiles. Then he, very deliberately, took another step, slightly harder than the others and Sakura looked down. Footprints! Of course!

By the time Sakura looked back up, though, he was gone. And when she looked back down, she realized that the fat snowflakes hadn't stopped. No! They would cover up Itachi's footprints!

Frantically, she started to run to follow the prints, when she heard a call from behind her.

"Sakura!"

She stopped and turned. It was her mother, running to her in flurry of long hair, a fluffy scarf, and her father's coat.

In seconds, she was bundled up in thick quilts and was being ushered into the house.

"But-but!"

"No buts!" Her mother said, automatically, as she got the kettle going and commanded her father to start the fire. "Look how cold you are! And where have you been? Don't you know how much we've worried about you? It's half-past two!"

She didn't know that she was gone that long, and yes, she felt bad, but still... "The footprints," she mumbled, out of the piled up fabrics. But she didn't think that she had been that cold and found that the cough medicine her mother had forced down her throat was working fast.

Within minutes, the exhausted girl was asleep.

--

The next morning, Sakura woke up. She lay in her bed for a moment before bolting upright. In a flash, she was getting dressed and brushing her hair and teeth.

Her parents both came out of their bedroom, eyeing their daughter worriedly.

"Are you feeling alright, dear? You slept the whole night through. Is your cold gone? Would you like more medi-"

But Sakura was already throwing on her winter clothes.

"Oh, no you don't! I can't have you getting sick!"

"But, mom!" Sakura whined, before quickly continuing. "I'm feeling fine and he's waiting!!"

"Who's waiting?"

Sakura didn't answer, just finished getting her coat on and ignored her snow pants.

She threw open the door and searched intently into the white, wintery bliss.

The mother came up behind her, squinting at the sudden light. "I don't see anyone, dear..."

Sakura, however, just grinned. Why? Because right there in the snow in front of her door was a fresh set of deliberate footprints leading off of the property and down the road...

**

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Merry Christmas**… :3

Leave love.

- Cady


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